News | Magnetic Hyperthermia Precisely Targets Endometriosis Lesions: A Nanotechnology Breakthrough
Scientists have developed a new nanotechnology that can locate and eliminate lesions associated with endometriosis. Led by Oleh Taratula of the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy and Ov Slayden of the Oregon National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University, the research opens a new treatment pathway for a condition affecting women worldwide.
The technology uses magnetic nanoparticles only billionths of a meter in diameter. After intravenous injection, the particles are visible on imaging such as MRI and accumulate in endometriosis lesions. An external alternating magnetic field then rapidly heats the particles above 49°C, ablating lesions without surgery.
Precise Removal of Endometriosis Lesions Without Surgery
Endometriosis is a systemic disease in which endometrium-like tissue grows outside the uterus, including on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and within the pelvis, and in rare cases beyond the abdominal cavity. According to the World Health Organization, about 190 million women of reproductive age worldwide are affected; 35% to 50% experience pelvic pain or infertility.
There is currently no cure. Surgery may temporarily relieve symptoms or improve fertility, but lesions recur in up to 50% of patients. More than one-quarter undergo at least three surgeries, and repeated procedures substantially increase the risk of complications.
Olena Taratula of the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy noted that although endometriosis is benign, some lesions can invade organs and become life-threatening. Pain-relieving medications may compromise fertility, making a safe, effective, nonsurgical treatment especially urgent for patients hoping to conceive.
Sixfold Greater Heating Efficiency and Targeted Accumulation
Earlier magnetic nanoparticles had poor heating efficiency and had to be injected directly into lesions, limiting their use for a systemic disease. The team developed hexagonal iron oxide nanoparticles with six times greater heating efficiency in a magnetic field, overcoming a major technical barrier.
The researchers also coated the particles with a targeting peptide that binds specifically to receptors found on endometriosis cells, greatly improving localization and accumulation within lesions.
In a mouse model, researchers implanted endometriosis tissue from macaques. A single magnetic hyperthermia treatment effectively eliminated the lesions.
In collaboration with Khashayar Farsad's team at the Dotter Interventional Institute at Oregon Health & Science University, the researchers also confirmed that the nanoparticles worked as an MRI contrast agent. “We can first locate the lesions with MRI and then heat them precisely,” said Oleh Taratula.
Cross-Institutional Collaboration Advances Women's Health Research
The project involved researchers from several institutions, including Youngrong Park, Abraham Moses, Peter Do, and Ananiya Demessie of the College of Pharmacy; Cory Wyatt of the OHSU Department of Diagnostic Radiology; Leonardo Campos and Younes Jahangiri of the Dotter Institute; and Hassan Albarqi of Najran University in Saudi Arabia.
Parinaz Ghanbari created the project illustration showing the nanoparticle treatment pathway. The project was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Primate Research Center, and the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy.
“This research not only provides a new method for MRI diagnosis but could also bring nonsurgical thermal treatment to a complex disease previously treated only with surgery,” the researchers said.
News | Magnetic Hyperthermia Precisely Targets Endometriosis Lesions: A Nanotechnology Breakthrough
News | Magnetic Hyperthermia Precisely Targets Endometriosis Lesions: A Nanotechnology Breakthrough
Scientists have developed a new nanotechnology that can locate and eliminate lesions associated with endometriosis. Led by Oleh Taratula of the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy and Ov Slayden of the Oregon National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University, the research opens a new treatment pathway for a condition affecting women worldwide.
The technology uses magnetic nanoparticles only billionths of a meter in diameter. After intravenous injection, the particles are visible on imaging such as MRI and accumulate in endometriosis lesions. An external alternating magnetic field then rapidly heats the particles above 49°C, ablating lesions without surgery.
Precise Removal of Endometriosis Lesions Without Surgery
Endometriosis is a systemic disease in which endometrium-like tissue grows outside the uterus, including on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and within the pelvis, and in rare cases beyond the abdominal cavity. According to the World Health Organization, about 190 million women of reproductive age worldwide are affected; 35% to 50% experience pelvic pain or infertility.
There is currently no cure. Surgery may temporarily relieve symptoms or improve fertility, but lesions recur in up to 50% of patients. More than one-quarter undergo at least three surgeries, and repeated procedures substantially increase the risk of complications.
Olena Taratula of the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy noted that although endometriosis is benign, some lesions can invade organs and become life-threatening. Pain-relieving medications may compromise fertility, making a safe, effective, nonsurgical treatment especially urgent for patients hoping to conceive.
Sixfold Greater Heating Efficiency and Targeted Accumulation
Earlier magnetic nanoparticles had poor heating efficiency and had to be injected directly into lesions, limiting their use for a systemic disease. The team developed hexagonal iron oxide nanoparticles with six times greater heating efficiency in a magnetic field, overcoming a major technical barrier.
The researchers also coated the particles with a targeting peptide that binds specifically to receptors found on endometriosis cells, greatly improving localization and accumulation within lesions.
In a mouse model, researchers implanted endometriosis tissue from macaques. A single magnetic hyperthermia treatment effectively eliminated the lesions.
In collaboration with Khashayar Farsad's team at the Dotter Interventional Institute at Oregon Health & Science University, the researchers also confirmed that the nanoparticles worked as an MRI contrast agent. “We can first locate the lesions with MRI and then heat them precisely,” said Oleh Taratula.
Cross-Institutional Collaboration Advances Women's Health Research
The project involved researchers from several institutions, including Youngrong Park, Abraham Moses, Peter Do, and Ananiya Demessie of the College of Pharmacy; Cory Wyatt of the OHSU Department of Diagnostic Radiology; Leonardo Campos and Younes Jahangiri of the Dotter Institute; and Hassan Albarqi of Najran University in Saudi Arabia.
Parinaz Ghanbari created the project illustration showing the nanoparticle treatment pathway. The project was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Primate Research Center, and the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy.
“This research not only provides a new method for MRI diagnosis but could also bring nonsurgical thermal treatment to a complex disease previously treated only with surgery,” the researchers said.
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